Is TBX agar a suitable medium for monitoring Escherichia coli in bathing water using the membrane filtration method?

The use of a suitable method for the enumeration of indicator microorganisms is of crucial importance for reliable monitoring and assessment of the quality of bathing waters. Among other characteristics, the method should be selective enough and ensure acceptable relative recovery of target microorganisms. This study presents the basic parameters, relative recovery and categorical performance characteristics of Tryptone Bile X-glucuronide (TBX) agar for Escherichia coli (E. coli) enumeration in bathing water samples using the membrane filtration method.The results of the relative recovery study, in which TBX agar was compared against temperature-modified ISO 9308-1:2014, showed that in order to achieve a satisfactory relative recovery of E. coli with TBX agar at 44 ± 0.5 °C, the resuscitation period on a non-selective medium (Minerals Modified Glutamate Agar, MMGA) at 36 ± 2 °C is crucial. Incubation on a double-layer MMGA/TBX medium with a 6-h resuscitation period and alternating incubation on single-layer MMGA and TBX agar with a 4-h resuscitation period resulted in acceptable and very similar relative recovery. The achieved performance characteristics of the tested medium, double-layer MMGA/TBX agar, are acceptable. The selectivity was matrix-dependent and was 60.6% for inland and 69.9% for coastal waters. No significant effect of the resuscitation period on selectivity was recorded. Finally, the results showed that when the resuscitation period on a non-selective medium is included, TBX agar is a suitable medium for E. coli enumeration in bathing water samples using the membrane filtration method and that its use, theoretically, would not have negative effects on the assessment of bathing water quality.

Neck Disability Index Detects Higher Neck-Related Disability Levels among Physiotherapists and Family Medicine Specialists than among Dentists.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers who are in physical contact with patients are prone to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Much is known about the prevalence of neck pain, but the extent of disability associated with neck pain among physical therapists (PTs), dentists, and family medicine specialists (FMs) is unknown. METHODS: The prevalence of neck pain and Neck Disability Index (NDI) data were collected from 239 PTs, 103 FMs, 113 dentists, and 112 controls from June to August 2022. RESULTS: The highest prevalence of neck pain was found in FMs (58.3%), followed by dentists (50.4%), PTs (48.5%) and controls (34.8%). The NDI% in PTs and FMs had higher values than controls: 14.6 ± 12.4, p = 0.02 for PTs, 14.9 ± 12.4, p = 0.01 for FMs vs. 10.1 ± 10.1 controls. The dentist group did not differ from controls (11.9 ± 10.2, p = 0.13). Mild, moderate, or severe forms of disability were more common in medical professionals than in controls (44.2%, 9.5%, and 1.5% vs. 37.5%, 7%, and 0%). Dentists were the youngest group with high functionality and the lowest degree of disability, comparable to the control population. Gender or age had no effect on NDI scores in this population. FMs, who represented the oldest group, showed age dependency (eleven years older in higher disability groups). Gender had no effect on NDI. In PTs, females predominated in all disability categories and PTs became five years older with increasing disability level. CONCLUSION: By using NDI in assessing neck-related WMSDs, we can detect medical professionals prone to more serious disability and potentially plan preventive actions.